A closer look at GiliSoft USB Stick Encryption 2.0

By | April 26, 2010

USB flash drives are the most popular way to move data from one PC to another. They are easy to use, convenient, affordable, but at the same time they pose a security risk and can be easily lost, stolen or misplaced.

GiliSoft USB Stick Encryption allows you to password protect USB drives, thumb drives, memory sticks, pen drives, jump drives and flash drives, so that the data contained in them doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

The installation process is simple and fast, after which you are presented with this welcome screen:

usb stick encryption's screenshot

If you have one of the earlier mentioned drives already connected to your computer, click on the “Refresh” button and the software will find it. If not, connect it now, and it will be recognized automatically:

gili-usb2

Use the slider in the bottom of the screen to set the size of the secure area – that can mean the entire disk, if you want it so. After you defined the size, click on the “Install” button. You will be asked to provide a username and password:

gili-usb3

If the drive isn’t empty, you will be warned that this action deletes all its contents and advised to save it somewhere else if you don’t want to lose it.

After the deed is done, an “agent” application appears on your disk:

gili-usb4

By clicking on it, you will access the secure area – after you’ve provided the right username and password, of course. (In the trial version, you will be able to access that particular secure area only 30 times).

The secure area gets a drive letter of it’s own. It looks and behaves like any other drive, and you can copy files inside it or delete them in the same way as you would in a regular drive.

You can browse or exit the secure area any time you want by clicking on the program’s tray icon and choosing the option:

gili-usb5

If, by any chance, you have managed to delete the “agent” application by mistake, don’t worry. The software has the option of restoring it. Just connect the drive to the computer, access the software, and press the “Recover” button. After giving the right username and password, you have the application back on the drive and you can access the secure area again.

The other two options on the welcome screen let you change passwords and uninstall the software from the USB stick:

gili-usb6

GiliSoft USB Stick Encryption is an effective tool that protects your data while you’re carrying it around. It’s extremely easy to use and takes very little of your time.

This article is from net-security

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *